Merry Christmas!

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Galations 4:4-5 (ESV)

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 (ESV)

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."
Micah 5:2 (ESV)

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

"And in your (Abraham's) offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed..." Genesis 22:18 (ESV)

Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People

Today's Advent hymn, "Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People" by Johann Olearius and again translated by Catherine Winkworth, is by the request of Pete.

"Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People"

Comfort, comfort, ye My people,

Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrows' load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over.

Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.

Hark, the Herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance
Since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him
And the hills bow down to greet Him.

Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.


And, since it was Pete who requested this one, the video is a brass quintet recording of the hymn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xare0pbxxs&feature=related

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Today's Advent hymn is Charles Wesley's "Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending."

"Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending"

Lo, he comes with clouds descending,

Once for ev'ry sinner slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign.

Ev'ry eye shall now behold him
Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at nought and sold him,
Pierced and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, shall their true Messiah see.

Those dear tokens of his Passion
Still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To his ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

Yea, amen, let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow'r and glory,
Claim the kingdom for thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou a lone!

This is not  my favorite tune for this hymn, but it is the one that is in our current hymnal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08cGl44SWGM

Hark the Glad Sound

Today's Advent hymn is "Hark the Glad Sound" by Philip Doddridge.

"Hark the Glad Sound"

Hark the glad soung!  The Savior comes,
The Savior promised long;
Let every heart prepage a throne
And every voice a song.

He comes the pris'ners to release,
In Satan's bondage held.
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.

He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of His grace
To enrich the humble poor.

Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim,
And heav'n's eternal arches ring
With Thy beloved name.


This is a fun organ arrangement of the hymn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GxACjvrujo

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Today's hymn is "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" by Georg Weissel and translated by Catherine Winkworth.

"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of glory waits.
The King of kings is drawing near;
The Savior of the world is here.
Life and salvation He doth bring;
Therefore rejoice and gladly sing.
To God the Father raise
Your joyful songs of praise.

A righteous Helper comes to thee,
His chariot is humility,
His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress,
The end of all our woe He brings;
Therefore the earth is glad and sings:
To Christ the Savior raise
Your grateful hymns of praise.

How blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O peaceful hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!
The cloudless Sun of joy is He,
Who comes to set His people free.
To God the Spirit raise
Your grateful hymns of praise.

Fling wide the portals of your heart;
Make it a temple set apart
From earthly use for Heaven's employ,
Adorned with prayer and love and joy.
So shall your Sovereign enter in
And new and nobler life begin.
To God alone be praise
For word and deed and grace!

Redeemer, come and open wide
My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide!
O enter with Thy grace dinne;
Thy face of mercy on me shine.
Thy Holy Spirit guide us on
Until our glorious goal is won.
Eternal praise and fame
We offer to Thy name.

(I couldn't find an even half-way decent video of this one, expecially with the tune I like.)

Savior of the Nations, Come

The Advent hymn for today is "Savior of the Nations, Come" by (most likely) Ambrose of Milan and later translated into German by Martin Luther.

"Savior of the Nations, Come"

Savior of the nations, come,

Virgin's Son, make here Your home!

Marvel now, O heav'n and earth,

That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood,

By the Spirit of our God,

Was the Word of God made flesh -

Woman's offspring, pure and fresh.

 

And, another video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqKpdIFX5LE

Advent

Ok, before anyone complains that I haven't blogged in a long time, I already know. Frankly, while I enjoy this blog, it hasn't been a priority lately. I have thought about it a couple of times and just have not gotten around to it. However, I am posting now.
Last year I posted about Advent. Because it is already there for the world to see, I am not going to recap it all again. However, while it is getting closer to Christmas, once again, Advent is getting forgotten. So, in the week leading up to Christmas, I am going to share some of my favorite Advent hymns, which I also think tend to be some of the best and most powerful of all hymnody. (Everything I will be posting is in the public domain.) I like so many Advent hymns, I won't get to post them all. Still, hopefully you will see some of your favorites and maybe see some new ones as well. Enjoy!

The hymn I am posting today is a very old hymn (written somewhere between the 5th and 10th centuries). It is a newer hymn for me, though, having just been introduced to it last year. Frankly, I think it is fantastic and a great way to start off this hymn collection.

"Creator of the Stars of Night"

Creator of the stars of night,

Thy people's everlasting Light:

O Christ, Redeemer, save us all,

And hear Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse

Should doom to death the universe,

Hast found the healing, full of grace,

To cure and save our ruined race.

Thou cam'st the Bridegroom of the bride,

As drew the world to eventide,

The spotless Victim all divine

Proceeding from a virgin shrine.

At whose dread name, majestic now,

All knees must bend, all hears must bow;

All things celestial Thee shall own,

And things terrestrial, Lord alone.

O Thou, whoe coming is with dread

To judge the living and the dead,

Preserve us from the ancient doe

While still we dwell on earth below.

To God the Father and the Son

And Holy Spirit, Three in One,

Praise, honor, might and glory be

From age to age eternally.

Amen.

Here is a link to another page that has the melody: http://http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/r/crestars.htm

And, a you tube video of the hymn with a slightly different translation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOXOE2caXpo&feature=related

Happy Advent!